Shang Ruyi had never been so close to war or the enemy.
One of her hands was tightly held by another cold large hand, pulling her forward continuously, while she kept turning her head back to watch the flood of Turkic soldiers pouring into the city like an overwhelming tide. These tall Turkic soldiers were brandishing their scimitars, roaring furiously as they charged through the city gates, while the soldiers inside the city showed no fear, but rather charged at them even more resolutely.
Shang Ruyi couldn’t even see how they clashed in close combat, but she saw a mist of blood rise abruptly at the city gate.
Immediately, the sound of slaughter shook the heavens!
The surroundings plunged into a chaotic state; some were charging, some retreating, some fighting bravely amidst the cries of battle, some losing their souls amidst screams. And just as the bloody mist filled the air, another sound of breaking came from the front. Turning her head, Shang Ruyi saw that the giant sedan chair Chu Yang had ridden was toppled and trampled into pieces amidst the surging crowd.
At this moment, a look of terror appeared in Chu Yang’s eyes.
He was the Emperor, the son of heaven, the supreme ruler with ten thousand chariots, worshipped by all wherever he went.
He had never imagined, or seen, such a perilous scene, nor thought that his sedan chair, a symbol of imperial majesty, would be trampled into dust at this moment.
This was the greatest shock in his heart.
How could the Emperor’s dignity be trampled?
How could the Emperor be forced to retreat?
At this moment, he didn’t even know whether the sudden surge of anger in his heart was towards the Turkic soldiers who were roaring and killing in front of him or the screaming people fleeing all around, but he immediately roared loudly—
The soldiers defending Yanmen County and those who accompanied the Emperor on this inspection tour were already stirred up by the Emperor’s previous rousing speech, and hearing his angry roar at this moment, the rage and anger they had felt after being besieged for several days erupted entirely. They roared and charged at the Turkic soldiers.
The Turkic soldiers were not just enemies who had besieged them for days; they were also gleaming gold, possibly even stepping stones to their future glory and success!
Who doesn’t want to defy fate and become superior to others?
Driven by interests and anger, the soldiers had their eyes reddened with killing. After beheading one person, they were immediately struck down by a blade from behind. In their final moments, they saw a vicious face, and the next moment, that person also fell into a pool of blood.
For a moment, the entire Yanmen County plunged into chaotic slaughter.
Outside the city, in the barren wilderness, the Turkic people could achieve an overwhelming victory with their charges. However, after entering the city gates, everything was different from warfare on the grassland; in close combat and with people surging, they couldn’t even tell whether those around them were enemies or allies, only feeling countless blades and shadows flashing around.
The Turkic soldiers’ attack was also blocked at the city gates.
But at this moment, Shang Ruyi once again heard that sharp sound like a mourning bell’s cry.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
She didn’t even turn around but pulled Chu Yang backward with all her strength, causing him to stumble and fall onto her. Shang Ruyi barely caught him, and at that moment, a cold light passed through where Chu Yang had just stood, shooting towards the crowd’s end.
However, the piercing sound stirred the Turkic people’s will even stronger, especially when they saw the most distinguished figure among the crowd at the end of the cold light. Instantly, their eyes turned red.
"Their emperor is right there!"
"Revenge, we want revenge!"
This time, the crowd’s emotions were stirred, initiating an even greater assault. Just as they were about to make a full attack, the defending soldiers couldn’t withstand this wave of offense and began to retreat step by step.
As they retreated, Shang Ruyi and the others could only retreat.
But where could they retreat to?
The city gates were breached, the Turkic people had already entered the city, and endless waves of Turkic soldiers were still pouring in from outside. With tens of thousands of cavalry, no matter where they retreated, if they couldn’t drive these people out, everyone here, along with the Emperor, would become the souls under the sword!
Shang Ruyi’s heart ached as if torn in this fierce battle; her life seemed to have reached a dead end!
But why was she still unwilling to give up?
Or perhaps, was she still hoping for something?
At this moment, Shang Ruyi suddenly felt the ground trembling.
Although the city was already trembling under the mad rush of fleeing citizens and the valiant charges of soldiers, at this moment, a different kind of tremor came from outside the city, from both sides of the walls.
It was like distant thunder rolling towards the small Yanmen County.
As she held her breath to listen, that cold large hand gripped hers firmly once more. Shang Ruyi looked up to meet the extremely bright eyes that were filled with despair.
It seemed that, regardless of whether what lay ahead was survival or death, she could neither advance nor retreat even half a step.
Shang Ruyi said to him, "Reinforcements!"
Chu Yang, initially lost in a frenzy and wanting to destroy everything, including the girl in front of him, and let the enemy tear him apart, suddenly awakened upon hearing her words.
Shang Ruyi’s voice trembled as she uttered the words, eagerly turning her head to look.
Outside the city gates, suddenly appeared another group of troops.
They suddenly charged out from both sides of the gates, carrying a thunderous momentum, directly splitting the Turkic soldiers in two. One group quickly surrounded the Turkic soldiers inside the city, trapping them at the gates, while the other pushed back the Turkic soldiers outside the city, forcing them dozens of zhang away.
With this, the two routes of Turkic soldiers were completely cut off!
Immediately, the crisis of the slaughter in the city temporarily eased.
The soldiers and the people with no escape route, seeing this scene, burst into joyous cheers, loudly crying, "Reinforcements are here! Our reinforcements have arrived!"
Even Wang Shaoji’s eyes reddened with excitement, shouting, "Reinforcements are here! Protect the Emperor! Kill the enemy! Kill the enemy!"
Hearing the thunderous cheers all around, Shang Ruyi suddenly felt her heart beating fiercely.
But it was a feeling different from everyone else’s—
Whose reinforcements... were they?
While she was confused and her heart was surging, making her breathe faster, at the other end of the long street, a hurried sound of hoofbeats suddenly arose.
Shang Ruyi’s heart pounded like thunder, and she instinctively looked up.
At the end of the long street, behind the countless moving heads, a cloud of dust suddenly rose, and in the next moment, a heroic figure spurred their horse galloping forward, swirling countless vortices of dust, and at that moment, everyone’s gaze seemed to be drawn by the aura surrounding him.
Shang Ruyi widened her eyes, watching intently—
Watching that single rider and horse, as if descending from the heavens.
As expected, they had arrived.